1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices to facilitate the painting of doors prior to installation into the door frame. More particularly, the invention comprises a rack for hingedly mounting a plurality of doors such that each door may be easily painted on both sides without having to handle the doors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Painters have desired a convenient method for painting doors in a central location which requires a minimal amount of handling and space.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,130, issued on Mar. 9, 2004, James D. Carlisle discloses a DOOR PAINTING RACK in which a plurality of doors may be mounted on the rack such that each door may be pivoted around a central axis of the each door. As opposed to the present invention, in which each door is hingedly mounted about a central pylon, Carlisle's rack requires an upper and lower extension from a center pylon for each door mounted to the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,758, issued to William F. Curran on Jan. 15, 2002, discloses a MULTIPLE OBJECT PAINT RACK SYSTEM wherein a number of objects, such as doors, may be mounted, along a single axis, for painting. By contrast, the present invention mounts doors around a central pylon such that they may be swung from side to side for painting both sides without interference from adjacent doors.
A DOOR DISPLAY DEVICE is disclosed by David L. Ishmael in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,278, issued on Apr. 2, 1996. In Ishmael's device, each door is mounted within a rectangular support, which is, in turn, pivotally mounted to a vertical support for pivotal movement about the vertical support. By contrast, in the present invention the doors are directly mounted to the central, vertical pylon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,011, issued on Nov. 17, 1992, to David D. Ray, discloses a DOOR PAINTING FIXTURE, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,648, issued to William R. Wood, III, on Feb. 15, 1992 discloses a STAND ASSEMBLY. In both Ray and Wood, the racks are designed to hold a single door which is mounted along a central vertical axis such that the door may be pivoted about that axis for painting. By contrast, the present invention mounts a plurality of doors about a central, vertical pylon such that each door may be swung, hingedly, for painting of the two sides.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.